


The Lion Who Leapt Through Time

by BeatrizCaelum



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, M/M, Multi, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Season/Series 08 Finale, Time Travel Fix-It, YES I ACCEPTED CANON ONLY TO DESTROY IT, the canon epilogue happens but then there's a better epilogue at the end, this is mostly allurance and sheith!! the other relationships are more of a background thing!, well - you guys will see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-26 16:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17144789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeatrizCaelum/pseuds/BeatrizCaelum
Summary: Six years after Princess Allura's passing and the Lions' departure, a team once named after a weapon they no longer have reshapes itself to fulfill one last mission: bring back what has been lost.





	1. Prologue: The end is the beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I'll hug whoever gets the title reference!
> 
> BE READY FOR PREPOSITION MISTAKES, because your language is hard.

"I didn't think they could _leave_ us."

It could’ve been Lance himself the one to whisper that into the cloudless night they shared, but Hunk beat him to it. The six — _five_  of them could only see a ghostly trail of light where each of the Lions had been a few moments earlier. Theirs, once. Perhaps for too long. Now, Lance realized, the Universe was claiming them back, as Voltron had been born of a comet that traveled through galaxies far beyond the ones they had known as its Paladins.

Blue had been right above Lance’s head, as if he never stopped being hers, while Red decided to stare down at Shiro. Lance didn’t know what was going through their minds, not really, but, if he were to guess, he’d say they weren’t sad. Solemn, perhaps.

“I can’t barely feel mine anymore.”

As the Lions’ presences pulsed fainter and fainter by the second, Lance could almost pretend that they were part of a children's fairytale they had finally outgrown. But the last page didn’t have a happy ending.

"Are they going to... bring her back?" Pidge dared to ask.

“Yes,” Lance didn’t miss a beat. The Altean marks, Allura’s marks, were sparkling a lovely shade of blue near his eyes. “I can feel it.”

It was a sense of peace that he wouldn’t be feeling if she was truly unreachable, he was sure. He wasn’t going to live in a world without her, not because he refused; he wouldn’t have to, not when there was such a persistent tug at his heart, as if it wanted to get closer to Allura’s still beating one.

Keith’s sharp intake of breath almost enveloped his words, “I don’t think they are.”

He didn’t look at him. “What _else_ would they be doing?”

“They’re gone,” Shiro answered instead, squinting his eyes towards the sky.  “And so is Allura.”

“And so were _you_ ,” Lance crossed his arms. “You weren’t supposed to come back either, right?”

“ _Lance_ ,” Keith warned, low and protective. He opened his mouth to say more, but a quick look at Shiro was enough for his shoulders to drop, and he stayed quiet.

“Keith, I’m not saying I wanted Shiro to stay de — in the Void! Of course not.” He sighed. “But that’s what would have happened if Allura and then you hadn’t — you know. She got Shiro out and you made sure he _stayed_ out.”

“It’s true,” Shiro ran his human hand trough silver hair. “But I don’t think that’s where Allura is.”

“It doesn't matter. They will get her out wherever she is.”

“You… feel it.” Pidge took off her glasses to wipe away a few stray tears. “You feel she’s coming back.”

“In my heart,” he brought his hand to his chest. “I’m sure of it.”

“It’s not exactly Science,” she smiled, all tiny and wobbly. “But I know better now. I know there’s… there’s more to life than what we can pursue through scientific research. Allura was… something else, too. Something unpredictable.”

“Allura was much more than that, much more than any word we could come up with.” Lance sighed. “And we won’t have to think about any way to honor her memory. She’s gonna do that herself.”

“I want to believe this,” she sniffed. “I don’t know. After what we saw, Lance…”

Allura’s sacrifice was still fresh on his mind, happening over and over again whenever his eyes fluttered closed. Her kiss was still burning on his lips, the gentle encounter of warm breaths that didn’t have the time to become more passionate, how she wanted, how they deserved. Lance wasn’t going to forget it as long as he lived, but at least he’ll have Allura by his side to help pick up the pieces her departure had shattered  — hopefully, _waking up_ by his side every day until the end, whenever it was going to be.

He could indulge himself with dreams of babies with dark skin, his eyes, white hair, his smile and pink, blue and maybe even purple Altean marks on their chubby cheeks. His thoughts would always end up there. Lance was a family man, after all, and he wouldn't mind staying home when they were little so Allura could run New Altea or do whatever his Princess — his Queen wanted to do.

“We’ll be alright,” he promised. “Happy.”

Keith eyed him carefully, "I thought you were... starting to move on."

"Yeah," he touched the bright marks. "But I feel I don't have to anymore."

“Buddy,” Hunk walked a few steps towards him. “If she doesn’t come back,  I don’t want you to feel — you’re gonna be — we’ll be right at your side.” He stumbled, looking at the others for help. Shiro nodded, but no one else reacted. “You’re not alone.”

“I know,” Lance gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “But everything will work out just fine. You said you didn’t think the Lions could leave us yourself.”

“Well, yeah.” He gulped. “We’re their Paladins, right?  It’s not like _we_ can refuse being chosen by them, so I thought — I hoped it was a kind of thing that went both ways. It’s only fair.”

They shared looks that spoke of belonging and wanting. Lance knew they had had very different lives, connected one day by the Garrison and, then, a legend older than they could fathom. But they were similar, now, in ways only war veterans could be and, as much as he wished he could have befriended them in gentler circumstances, he was grateful for being their sharpshooter. A part of their unusual family.

Currently incomplete.

“After everything we went through together, it’s heart to believe they’d go away.” Keith closed his eyes for a brief moment before stepping away from Shiro’s side. “But it’s not impossible. Nothing is permanent, and sometimes even someone who we thought would always be by our side turns away and leaves.”

“Keith—”

“But sometimes it’s for the best,” he interrupted Shiro with a tight smile. “If that’s what they want, I mean. You — all of you — and the Lions are free to do as you want.”

“Are you two okay?” Pidge raised her eyebrow. “Shiro?”

“We bonded with our Lions,” he looked at the sky again “but, ultimately, Voltron was a weapon. Or at least it was built as one. If there’s nothing to fight, if there’s nothing worth using Voltron for…”

“Isn’t there _always_ something or someone to fight?” Hunk shuddered. “It’s the Universe we’re talking about! There will always be danger! Lots and lots of it.”

“But I doubt there’s going to be a threat as big as Zarkon, Lotor or Honeva soon.” He looked at his Altean arm. “I can only hope, though.”

“Voltron was built when Zarkon was still a good person,” Pidge bit her lower lip. “A good Emperor to the Galra. Even then, the Universe needed Defenders. We’re still useful.”

“As much as I want Yellow to come back,” Hunk said, “I hope we don’t have as many difficult battles as before. Maybe they can stay, even if it’s just to be our friends. I like to think we’re friends.”

“More than that,” Keith’s tone was firm. “Red -— and then Black — was my partner.”

Lance eyed their former leader, “Speaking of lion switch, are you still connected to Black?”

“Huh?” Shiro blinked. “No. Not anymore.”

Pidge followed his train of thought. “Why did you wake up? How did you know they were leaving?”

Shiro froze, a somewhat pained look twisting his features. “I—”

“He was in my room talking to me when it happened,”  Keith said through clenched teeth. “That’s how he knew.”

Whatever their topic of conversation had been, Lance felt it wasn’t a pleasant one, and he knew better than to upset even more an already upset Keith. The results tended to be a  rather explosive fight, which wasn’t a warm welcome to his girlfriend.

“So,” Hunk hugged himself, “are we just staying here? Because I’m kinda cold.”

“Staying here?” Keith echoed.

“For Allura, I mean. If — when she arrives, we should be here.” Hunk’s eyes lit up. “I’m gonna grab some blankets! I’d be just like camping!”

The excitement fluttering in his chest was more intense now as he blew a kiss to the stars.

“I’m staying, obviously!” Lance grinned. “I can’t wait to see her again!”

“Oh, man, should we get Coran?”

“No,” Shiro’s tone startled all of them. “No, Hunk. I know is has been a year, but... He needs to rest.”

“They didn’t get to say goodbye,” Keith grunted. “Let the man sleep. If you’re right, we can call him once she’s here.”

“I’m gonna ignore your ‘if’,” Lance pouted. “Hunk, go get these blankets!”

Pidge ended up taking care of the blanket mission as Hunk ran straight towards the New Castle's kitchen to gather all sorts of snacks and beverages. They bundled up, sitting cross-legged on the floor, side by side, but Lance stayed where he was, stretching his arms as if Allura could fall into them at any second. Keith was also standing up, his back turned to Shiro, who at some point decided to lay down with his eyes closed, breathing unevenly.

“You in pain, buddy?”

“I’m fine, Lance.” He answered. “Just tired.”

“Yeah. So am I.”

Lance looked at them together under the night sky and felt a part of his silly self return to the surface. He wanted to mess with Keith, goof around with Hunk, annoy Pidge, praise Shiro. And take Allura to the beach and kiss her in the sea. He wanted to jump and dance and scream and hug them, even Mullet. He wanted to make them a milkshake, go with them to a spa, play Monsters & Mana, sing even if he didn’t know how. And he’d do all those things, time and time again through the decades, with the family he helped to build against all the odds.

_I’m waiting for you, Allura. Come home._

And when the sun of New Altea rose, Voltron might as well had been a nightmare.

No sign of any of the five lions or their only Princess. It was not something they could confirm that very morning or even for months to come, but they weren’t Paladins anymore, they weren’t Defenders, they weren’t much more than a group of experient fighters who once shone. Perhaps, if they had been another people, they’d leave one by one, defeated faces excusing themselves to hide inside once they realized no one was coming to make them whole again.

But they stayed by Lance’s side.

Each one of them stayed by Lance’s side until the sun was in the middle of the sky and the blankets were damp with tears. They nodded each time he insisted the Lions could take a few days to get to where Allura was and return, they nodded each time he said they should stay alert for the next weeks, they nodded each time Lance said he wasn’t giving up on her.

And whenever he did go wait for her, no one would tell Coran anything.


	2. Chapter I: You're my only hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good reading!

If anyone were to see Keith, they’d ask why he’s flying as if he doesn’t love it.

He does, he does love it. The faster, the better. This time, though, he welcomes the monotonous speed when the ship slows down under his command. With a sigh, he considers activating the autopilot, but he’s not feeling _that_ defeated. The stars and the occasional purple nebulas of whatever is the quadrant he’s flying move across his vision in such a way that reminds him of a lullaby he’s not sure if anyone ever sang to him.

He refuses a call from the base he left and types a quick message to Krolia. _Tell them_ _I’m still on my way. Slowed down to think._

Wolf lowers his head to nuzzle his snout to the palm of his hand, licking at it. Keith smiles despite everything, but it doesn’t last long;

It’s absurd to realize that, even now, he’s able to feel Red’s controls on his gloved fingertips and see the outline of Black’s navigation panel in front of him, and of course _that’s_ the path his mind insists on taking as his ship gets closer to New Altea.

For the first time in years, Keith wishes he’s still alone in Earth’s desert.

Perhaps not as lonely as he once was and certainly not frantically looking for signs of an ancient cosmic legend, but he misses the quietude of his dad’s shack. He misses doodling at the corner of old documents and books about fire safety, he misses the constellations he grew up with, he misses the battered freedom of teenagehood, he finds himself reviving the sort of withering memory he thought he would never look back into.

“You’re not one to act nostalgic,” his mom said when he brought it up. “You like to move forward.”

It’s true. Moving forward through the most devastating feelings kept him alive when he’d rather not feel anything at all. But he isn’t surviving anymore, he’s not all teeth and nails and bite, he’s not a far too thin spitfire with a knack for flying way too fast. He’s living with a new steadiness to his days, with a clear purpose, rebuilding things that never should have been lost in the first place. And who he used to be in that desert couldn’t do that.

Then again, there’s a possibility that he simply misses being younger and all that entails. Not young enough that he’ll have to stand in front of his dad’s grave alone again, not young enough that he still thinks Shiro died in Kerberos, not young enough that he doesn’t know his mom or wolf.

But young enough that he still feels like himself.

He doesn’t know when it started. He couldn't make himself keep track of something that should not happen yet one more time, so many years later, after so much progress regarding the half of his heritage that came from beyond his old solar system. He found out about his blood, yes, but was finding out about his ability to form ties with others that made the real difference.

And there he is, unsure and afraid as if he’s eighteen instead of twenty-eight, with far too much of unrequited love weighing on his chest than any competent adult should have.

 _Ah._ Keith grimaces. _It’s that again._

It’s that point in time once more. Keith and his former team are galaxies apart — with the work he’s doing, sometimes he changes from one solar system to another in a matter of what he once called days —, and the mere notion of an Earth year is long gone, so they use the time measurement established at New Altea. Keith doesn’t have how to keep track of it with how much he travels, but Coran’s message never fails to both warn him and sweep him off his feet.

He managed not to miss any in the past five years and he’s still amazed by how he didn’t leave the last one earlier when Shiro smiled and put two silver rings on the table and, of course, none had Keith’s name written on it. It was sweet that he had felt like telling them he’d go ask his boyfriend’s hand later that night instead of only saying something after the _yes_.

Keith felt like Shiro’s family again for the first time in five years, but it wasn’t quite the position he was hoping for.

Seeing how Shiro was at the wedding, though, made him feel at peace. Shiro’s happiness is and always will be worth his quiet, lifelong sorrow. For what it counts, it’s easier not to dwell on it, to feel like he has truly moved on, but whenever Coran’s message pops up in his old datapad with all its smiling faces and exclamation points, he thinks of a reality he’ll never get the chance to see.

One he doesn’t dare to dream of anymore.

But it’s useless to think of long-lost soulmates, other lifetimes and the orbit of planets changing the seasons when he has work to do. Work he likes doing. Keith feels intensely, as Kolivan still likes to point out, but he’s a man of action, of fists and change, and he’s going to that celebration to honor Allura, he’s seeing Shiro and Curtis together and he’ll enjoy as much time as he can get with his old friends and then go back to the Hope of Marmorra.

Not come back  _home_ , he realizes. That, he cannot do.

 

* * *

 

“I _told_ you. No need for Chef Garrett. Hunk is just fine.”

Sal’s gaze on him doesn’t waver as he lifts his arm to perform a  salute that is all kinds of unnecessary. “Understood, Chef Hunk.”

“I cannot stress it enough,” he says slowly. “Just Hunk. H-u-n-k.”

Sal nods, sweat running down his forehead. Maybe Hunk is seeing things, but he swears it’s almost like Sal is vibrating slightly due to the effort. He looks down at his shoes, before nodding again to himself, taking a deep breath and very, very unsurprisingly letting Hunk down one more time:

“Chef Hunk Garrett.”

“I know you can do it, man. I believe in you.”

“Hunk-chef.”

_“Sal.”_

“It’s only the respect you deserve!” He puts his hands on his hips. “You’re at it doing your best to help the Galactic Coalition spread peace through the Universe, you cook the food of all the official meetings _and_ you’re getting your own cooking show to be broadcasted to at least five galaxies!”

His imagination runs wild with visions of his dear Food Empire of Peace growing up even more than it did in the past few years, reaching the most unknown corners of the Universe, distant, forgotten planets with starving communities or those who haven’t figured out how to make fire yet. He’ll help as many people as he can — not only as a Chef, but as a teacher, showing them that they can be their own providers, how to make the best out of their resources, showing them how food can bring people together to celebrate the preciousness of the very life that Honerva once wiped out of existence.

Hunk feels a shiver run up through his spine.

He coughs. “With great cooking skills, comes great responsibilities.”

“You’ll do fine.” Sal grunts. “You taught these big  hands to cook delicate and delicious food, you can do anything.”

“Thanks, pal. Sal, my pal.”

“Don’t mention it,” he answers with a curt shrug, only to whisper under his breath, “Chef Garrett.”

“ _Ooookay_ ,” Hunk takes off his yellow, floral apron “We’re working on it when I get back. Is all the food we cooked for the lunch with my friends at the Memorial ready to go?”

“Affirmative, sir.”

“Nice job!” He rubs his hand and some flour finds its new home on the impossibly clean floor of the Castle’s main kitchen. “This is going to be great!”

“Are you going now?” Sal asks as he washes his hands on the sink and turns towards the exit. “You’re already on Altean grounds. You’re gonna be the first one to arrive.”

Hunk stops on his tracks.

_No. Lance always gets there first._

 

* * *

 

“K, are the new cadets late from the training _again_?”

Instead of answering Matt’s question, Katie sticks her head further under her bed and settles for an uncommitted humming sound that she hopes satisfies him enough to leave her be. After a few seconds of desperate search through clothes and old candy wrappers, she doesn’t know if he’s still standing on her doorstep and perhaps she’s being unnecessarily rude, but there are more important matters at hand than her brother’s feelings. _Where is it? Where is it?_

 _“_ Have you seen —”

Katie’s question morphs into a yelp as a hand drags her from under the bed by her ankles and turns her around gently. The shift on perspective makes her glasses slide down a bit and she wrinkles her nose at Matt.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah.” She huffs, already standing up. “Don’t know if they’re late, not enough time to care.”

“Sorry, I know it’s your day off.” He sighs and Katie finally sees the work tablet floating near them, glowing on and off as notifications swarm the screen. “But it’s really hard to keep track of everything happening at the defender training area in the Garrison alone.”

“What about Nadia? Call her.”

“I think I can hear Isaac crying in the living room,” Matt says instead, stealing a quick look to the hallway. “I should have left him with Daliah.”

“There’s no one crying,” Katie shakes her head as she crouches down to open the last drawer of her dresser. _It’s not here, either._ “My nephew is fine, probably sleeping. You’re starting to be a paranoid dad.”

“I like to think my worry is lovable, but thanks for the input, K.”

“You didn’t answer my question, dear brother.” She points out, this time standing on her tiptoes to reach a box on the top of the wardrobe. It’s old and flood to its edge with random technologic junk she had outgrown and a few discarded blueprints.

“Nadia and the other MFE pilots went to New Altea to help Coran with the Memorial,” he shrugs. “We’re kind of short on staff today. No one to cover for me while I take care of Isaac.”

“There’s a lot of new people, you know that.”  She gives up on the box and leaves it near her computer. There must be a place she forgot to look.

“Yeah, but I’m not _friends_ with them. Don’t wanna ask for anything.”

“How old are you again?”

“Older than you, _Pidge.”_ He smirks, reaching his hand to ruffle her hair. It’s unruly and past her shoulders again, and for the time being she’s not sure if she will cut it or not. “You’re twenty-two. A baby.”

“Getting nostalgic, aren’t we?” She smirks back, but soon the corner of her lips turns down, and a pang of sadness on the back of her head makes itself heavy enough for her to reach for the migraine medicine on the desk. Matt doesn’t stop her when she grabs two pills instead of one.

Katie swallows them dry.

“I know this time of the year isn’t easy.” Matt unties his ponytail and twists the elastic on his hands as if he’s fidgeting with one of his gadgets. “Too many memories come back to the surface. You don’t have to pretend you’re fine.”

“I don’t.” She sighs. “I’m still going regularly to therapy. So is Shiro, by the way, if you’re wondering.”

At the mention of their friend, Matt’s expression turns clouded for a brief moment before it lits up in a crooked smile that doesn’t quite reach his irises.  “How does it feel like to talk about your feelings to someone with six arms and an extra pair of eyes?”

“Hardly the weirdest thing we see on Earth these days. Maybe _you_ don’t have enough arms and eyes.” Katie snorts, and, more softly, adds: “She’s great at what she does.”

“Who would guess someone from another galaxy would understand our psychology so well? It does make you what the hell is up with human feelings, doesn’t it?”

Instead of indulging him, Katie steps forward to touch his hand. It takes less than a second for Matt to turn their proximity into a tight hug, tucking her head under his chin.

“Thanks for trying to cheer me up.”

“Anytime, Pidge.” He squeezes her. “Pid-geon. Pid-geotto.”

_“Stop.”_

“Still not on board with the good ol’ Katie.” Matt admits, not for the first time. “I should give you a new nickname.”

“I still love Pidge,” she nuzzles into the hug before stepping away to look at him. “But… I think she’s kind of gone. Not entirely.  I feel like she’d rather stay where she likes it better, you know?”

“So Pidge is safe and sound making a mess out of some advanced technology in an alien planet with the Green Lion, then.” Matt laughs. “I can see that.”

“Yeah,” her throat tightens, burns, shatters all at once.  “Me too.”

“What were you looking for, anyway?”

Keith curses, stirring back to life and diving into the bed to grab her backpack in a wild gesture. “I’m late!”

“They can wait for you.”

“Do you have any idea where is my new frequency tracker?” She chews on her lower lip. “It was on my desk last night!”

Math’s laugh is more of a cough when he answers. “Uh. Yeah, I do.”

“You actually do?” Katie almost jumps out of her skin. “How? You got here today!”

She follows Matt down the stairs and has to fight down the urge to smack him as if they’re still children when she’s met with the horrifying vision of Isaac drooling all over it. The baby is licking at it tentatively, only stopping to shake it with his tiny hands near his ear to see if it plays a song like some of his _other_ toys.

One of his fingers brushes over the buttons, and a series of chaotic _beeps-boops_ and error message _s_ envelops the room. Isaac frowns, and seems to be considering launching it a the floor when Katie gently pries it off his hands, giving him one of his stuffed aliens he apparently forgot near his floating stroller.

“Oh, Isaac.” She sighs while cleaning the drool on her brother’s shirt. “I’m glad you’re not strong enough to break it and that you didn’t get hurt. I’m so sorry that your dad is Matt.”

_“Hey.”_

“Why was it with him?” She narrows her eyes.

“I showed your room to Isaac when you were in the shower,” he smiles almost sheepishly. “He saw it on your desk and, well… demanded it.”

“Great parenting, Matt.”

“You don’t have to listen to him crying all night, okay?” He huffs. “I swear, half-alien babies scream even louder than regular ones.”

Katie smiles down at her nephew, running her hand through curly-ish locks of hair that are almost the exact shade of her own, contrasting with the faint lilac hue to his skin that comes from Daliah. Green eyes blink up at her, observing her face with avid attention. He probably won’t be needing glasses in the future, for his mom’s vision is twice as sharp as any human’s, but Katie still plans on giving him Matt’s old ones — currently with Chip — as the official Holt family heirloom.

“I love you.”

“Love you too, K.”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Katie laughs. “But you’re not that bad to talk to.”

“Thanks,” Matt answers, pushing her towards the door. “Your ride is here. I can’t believe you’re late because you were looking for that tracker you built. You didn’t even tell me _what_ it tracks.”

Katie’s smile fades out.

“I did. Frequency.”

She’s sure Matt’s scream is something along the lines of, “ _What kind of frequency?”,_ but she’s already running to where Romelle is waiting with one of the New Altea ships, waving through the window at her. Matt doesn’t need to know.

It’s not like it'd be useful, but a woman can dream.

 

* * *

 

Shiro considers wearing gloves.

Not to mention that there isn’t one big enough for his Altean prosthetic, it’s not cold in New Altea right now and he doesn’t _have_ one to use in the human hand and it’s not like he can ask his _kind-of-husband_ now that he can’t barely _look_ at Curtis’ face and _is retirement supposed to feel so stressful?_

He doesn’t need to hide anything from them, he knows, but it still feels like yet another death that his marriage couldn’t survive a full year. Shiro has the experience — of two lifetimes, quite literally — to know that the Universe works in strange ways, he has seen the stars close enough to see that there’s nothing written on them, no sort of clear-cut fate shining its light upon the people below it. But what in the name of Astrophysics does life want of him, then, if not to settle down with someone he loves?

(Is he allowed to use Astrophysics as a substitute for a divine force if he doesn’t work at the Garrison anymore?)  

He’s being dramatic, perhaps. The Universe doesn’t seem to have _wants_ of its own, but it does seem to have needs. Harmony, especially. Endings so beginnings could be born. A divorce to every wedding, a new partner to every break-up.

A Curtis to an Adam, and then nothing at all.

“I’m leaving,” he says to the empty apartment. The portrait of the wedding hanging by the door mocks him, but he doesn’t have it in him to turn their smiling faces to the wall. Curtis doesn’t deserve such a treatment, nothing in the past few months was really his fault.

Shiro insisted to be the second — and last, since they’re the only ones of the group on Earth  — to be picked up by Romelle, if nothing else to at least have an extra few minutes to prepare himself. He waits for the familiar commotion of the wind indicating that a ship is near and bites down a sigh when it peeks out of the clouds, white and turquoise, with the flag of New Altea printed on its side. It’s an elegant design, he thinks. Golden Altean marks like stars, a single crystal in the middle. The background is a soft pink.

_It’s to honor fallen warriors._

If Katie notices the missing ring when they meet, she doesn’t say anything.

Shiro thinks he was the one who adapted first and more eagerly to her new — old — name. He gets it. The need to create some distance with the past so it wouldn’t hurt as much, the fragile hope of a new future that comes with a new way to identify yourself to the world. _Worlds_

He tried to go by his full name for a while, but, the moment Keith called him _Takashi ,_  something so raw  _convulsed_ inside his stomach that he went back to Shiro at the speed of light, never to try again.

What a turn of events. The Champion afraid of a name — then again, _because_ he was once the best at the Galra arena where the people watching would scream such a title, he knew well the power of words, how they could twist your perception of everything they referred to. Shiro wants his first and last and his nickname to speak of triumph and happiness.

Of love.

But, for that to happen, he needs to find it within himself before looking for it in someone else, doesn’t he?

“I’m thinking of getting glasses,” he says after they exchange their hellos and melt into a hug. She’s taller than when she was fourteen or sixteen, sure, but she’s still comically small compared to him. He’s glad that it stayed that way.

They leave Earth, and Shiro wonders if he wants to come back.

“Your body — you don’t need them.” She frowns.

“Neither does you,” he teases, hoping the smile seems genuine.

“Don’t you underestimate these babies,” she points at the lenses. “They’re a screen, you know. Can access all kind of things from here with just voice command. I feel powerful.”

“I’m sure you do.”

He forces himself to keep the conversation going and, somehow, he manages to sound at ease for a considerable amount of time before letting some bitterness slip into his tone when he asks if she’s seeing someone.

“Not currently, no.” She eyes him. “How is married life, by the way?”

“Not exactly a paradise,” he sighs. Katie’s eyes finally dart to his hand.

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” Shiro grimaces. “I’ll explain it better when we’re together.”

Katie nods, biting her lower lip and hugging something — a backpack close to her chest.

“What is in there?” He raises an eyebrow. “Were we supposed to bring something and I forgot?”

“No, no.” She clears her throat. “Don’t worry. Just something I’ve been working on that I wanted to show you guys.”

“Never stop being you.”

“I remember. ‘ _Go. Be great._ ’”

Katie grins at him, all teeth and determination, and Shiro feels a bit better. They share a comfortable silence after that, occasionally pointing at the landscape as it emerges below the fluffy, pinkish clouds of New Altea’s atmosphere. Then, Romelle shouts something from the cockpit that sounds like _“Welcome home, Paladins!_ ” and they arrive on the landing area of the Castle of the Lions II.

“Have you?” Katie asks when they step outside.

“Huh?

“Have you stopped being yourself?

Shiro blinks. Stares at her. Stares at Romelle looking at them curiously. Stares at his shoes. They don’t answer and neither does him, but Katie seems to understand. She often does.

“Let’s go,” she tugs at his sleeve. “I miss them.”

_Me too._

Like all the other times they’ve done this, Romelle provides them some quick updates on what’s happening lately. Their schools are prospering wonderfully and the population still consists mostly of Alteans, she says, as most species seem to find life there rather boring — “I prefer peaceful, thank you very much!” — and, now as a republic themselves, they have the closest ties with the Galra Republic in Daibazaal than anyone else in the Universe, of course.

Shiro stops listening to it when she mentions the Galra and he pretends he doesn’t know why.

“I’m glad everything is working out”, Katie says when they step outside. Shiro already can see their table at distance and he returns to pay attention at the conversation.

“She would’ve loved it,” Romelle whispers. “I know she’d have.”

“Yeah. But maybe she wouldn’t be a fan of not being Royalty anymore, huh?”

“Oh, please, Pidge!” She snorts. “Allura would be our representant at the Galactic Coalition!”

“Or maybe a General,” Katie smiles softly as they walk past some children with stuffed lions. “Like Leia.”

“Who’s Leia?”

“A character from a really old Earth franchise called _Star Wars,”_ Katie explains. “She started as Princess Leia and then decades later became General Leia.”

 _But Allura won’t get to grow old like Leia did,_ Shiro’s mind supplies against his will, and the girls stumble to keep up with his steps as he walks faster towards Coran’s jumping figure. He’s somewhat distracted and isn’t agile enough to stop when someone is suddenly in front of him, face-to-face, with a wolf almost as tall as him by their side.

“Shiro,” Keith visibly swallows. “Where’s — hey. Sorry. I arrived a while back. Didn’t feel like walking here.”

“It’s okay,” Shiro decides to pay attention to Kosmo and _not_ Keith’s beautiful braided hair. “Is Kosmo even _bigger_?”

“Who is Kosmo?” He deadpans.

“You don’t give up, do you?” He rolls his eyes with a fondness that, somehow, hurts. “Wolf, what’s your plan, buddy? To be ship-sized?”

Kosmo — Wolf, Shiro supposes, wiggles his tail, standing in two and easily surpassing him in height. Giant paws find their way to Shiro’s shoulders and he has to use the Altean hand to put some distance between them before Wolf ends up tackling him to the ground. He doesn’t seem offended, though, apparently content with nibbling at his pants in search of pockets with treats or anything that he’s not supposed to chew. Keith snorts.

He follows Wolf’s trail of drool with his eyes and then it’s too late.

When Keith’s mouth is left open as he stares at his ringless finger, Shiro’s heartbeat falls back into an ancient melody, and he wonders if he should have stayed home this time.

* * *

 

Lance’s eyes are drawn to the skies as flower carried by the wind flies above his head.

“Will we have soundless fireworks this time?”

Hunk’s voice startles him and the answer comes out somewhat rattled. “Uh-huh.”

“That’s thoughtful of Coran. I don’t really mind the noise myself, but I know there are some people here that are really sensitive to sound.”

“You’re just sensitive to everything else,” Lance’s smile is serene.

“I could deny it, but I won’t.” Hunk laughs with his whole body. “I grew used to weird, loud noises. Our kitchen is quite the show.”

“Are they not coming here?” Coran interrupts them. He’s standing near the table. Lance realizes he has stopped with all the jumping and is now waving his arms frantically.

“Pidge — sorry, Katie — is coming.”  Hunk points out. “Romelle, too.”

“It’s not Number Five or Romelle I’m worried about!” He wails. “Look at _them.”_

Lance turns his chair around a bit and raises an eyebrow at the scene of Keith and Shiro standing frozen staring at each other trapped in what seems a really awkward silence. Keith looks funny, restless irises dancing back and forth between Shiro’s human hand and his face.

“I’ll drag their quiznacking butts myself over here if I have to,” Coran threatens. And that’s exactly what he does — but not without first crushing Katie with a bear hug that Hunk and Lance soon imitate.

After all sorts of displays of affection (Lance pretends he’s just going to shake Keith’s hand, but Mullet knows better and drags him into a one-armed hug with a faked grunt of annoyance), they all sit and say goodbye to Romelle.

“I’m not only a private mean of transportation today,” she winks at Katie and Shiro before running off with Kosmo on her trail. “I’m coordinating the final ceremony with the floating lamps at Lake Alfor.”

“I love how everyone takes the Memorial so seriously,” Katie comments, stretching her hand to the Allura’s mice on the center of the table. There’s no food yet, or else Hunk would ask them to sit on their little chairs Coran made them last year. The greenish one squeaks happily at her and the yellow one leaves near her a gemstone it had been keeping since Lance got there earlier.

“Oh, it’s a gift! For me? I appreciate it.”

“I can’t believe to this day we never gave the mice names,” Hunk shakes his head. “We’re awful people.”

Keith’s left eyes twitches. Violently.

“There’s no such thing as giving your _friend_ a name,” he grunts. “You guys know that.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Hunk smiles at him. “We’re supposed to wait for them to feel comfortable enough to tell us their names. Like Kosmo, someday.”

“Does Kosmo even _speak_ ?” Lance shudders. “I sure as hell have never seen him speaking and I hope it never happens. I mean, _how_ is he even supposed to —”

“I will know,” Keith cuts him off. “For sure.”

Lance prefers not to dwell on it, “Sure thing.”

“How are all of you doing, my dears?” Coran asks. “Tell me everything before our feast. Shortest to tallest, now!”

“That’s me,” Katie smiles. “Before I lose the nerve, I’d like to show you guys something.”

“Lose the nerve?” Hunk gulps. “Is there any chance that something of yours will blow up?”

“Nope,” she reaches for her backpack at her feet. Lance peeks at her curiously and frowns when some sort of equipment emerges. It’s white and green, rectangular and sort of reminds him of a remote controller, but with a antenna in one of its sides and what seems a retractable screen.  

“Interesting,” Hunk blinks. “Doesn’t seem explosive.”

She puts it on the table and asks the mice to take it to Coran. “It’s yours, Gorgeous Man.”

“Oh, my!” He gasps, taking it from the blue, smaller one. “Why, thank you, I’ve always wanted one of these!”

“What is it?” Keith asks.

“Coran has no idea, I think.” Katie smiles.

“I don’t,” he admits. “But I’ve always wanted one. Thanks, Pidge.”

“It’s a tracker,” she takes a deep breath and Lance feels suddenly uneasy. “A frequency one.”

“What kind?” Shiro takes a look at it from his seat. Katie avoids their eyes.

“Voltron’s”

Coran drops it.

“Oh.” He coughs. “That’s—”

“I don’t plan on finding them,” she lowers her voice. “I know it’s not our place anymore. I know they do what they want.”

“Why did you build it, then?” Hunk sighs. “It looks amazing, by the way.”

“I was thinking,” Katie bites her lower lip, “that if someone, someday, causes enough trouble to open a rift or disturbs the realities’ flow and another comet like the one Alfor used to build Voltron appears, we should be alerted.”

“You’re right,” Keith nods. “We’d have to do something.”

“Perhaps we could use to build another mecha or something. I don’t know.” Her smile is sad. “Nothing would ever replace our Lions, but, if the Universe ever needs a Defender like Voltron again and they’re not around, we — or whoever is here— should be ready.”

A heavy silence washes over them. No one knows quite where to look or what to do when Coran puts the tracker in his pocket and starts twisting his mustache a bit too strongly, lost in thought.

Lance smiles, at least. “You did great, P— Katie.”

“Thanks,” she returns it, before daring to look at Coran. “I didn’t mean to remind you—”

“You’re always one step ahead of us, dear.” He interrupts. “It’s wise to lean with our past, as painful as it might be. Thank you, Number Five.”

Katie’s breath of relief doesn’t go unnoticed by any of them.

“Oh, and I’m doing pretty okay. The new generation of defenders is really something! They’re very skilled and it’s so exciting to see them learning. Earth’s future is in good hands.”

“Still at the Holts, right?” Shiro asks. “I miss Sam.”

“Yeah,” she shrugs. “I still don’t feel like moving out. With how much time I spend helping my parents out at the Garrison anyways, it’d be a waste of time.”

“Well, I’m still with my entire family at the Mcclain Farm, so I guess we both never moved out.”

“It doesn’t bother me, but I admit I’d like to have a place for myself somewhere else to go to sometimes.” She sighs. “I love my parents, but they can be a bit suffocating even now that I’m an adult.”

“I hear you, sis.” Lance winces in sympathy.

“And, Shiro, you’re always welcome there.” Katie looks at him from his seat across the table with a serious expression. “You’re like a son to them and like my big brother. Pretty sure Matt also thinks of you like this.”

“Family is everything!” Coran says.. “Go visit yours more, Shiro. All of them. The Holts, the Paladins and me.”

“I will,” the way Shiro’s voice cracks draws a small sight out of Lance. He sees Keith’s hand closing into a fist on top of the table.

“Well, I suppose I can’t blame you! You’re a married man!”

“Coran —”

“Shush, Number Five, your time is out!”

“Already?!”

“I don’t mind some rule breaking around here.” He smiles. “Let’s hear what our Shiro has to say about his new life. Speaking of it, shouldn’t he be with us today? What is his name again? For some reason, I can never recall! Is it —”

“We’re not together anymore,” Shiro cuts him off.

Lance’s eyes widen. _Is this why Keith is weirder than usual?_

“Oh.”

“Sorry, Coran. I didn’t mean to sound so — I’m good. It happens.”

“Geez, man, I’m sorry.” Hunk sighs. “If there’s a divorce party — don’t give me that look, Katie, they’re quite popular now! —, I can make a cake with you two on top and I promise his doll will have an awful-looking nose.”

“Shiro, do I need to have words with this fool of a man?” Coran asks, flexing his arms and winking with both eyes. “If you understand what I’m saying. Just me, him, and maybe Lance’s cow.”

Lance blinks. “Why Kaltenecker?”

“Because he’s really going to be sad after we talk, so I’ll make him a milkshake.”  Coran huffs. “And then drop it on his face!”

To Lance, at least, Keith looks like he’s on board with the plan.

“No need,” Shiro gives him a small smile. “But thanks.”

“Did he move out already?” Katie asks. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about what happened.”

“He did, yeah. But we still haven’t made the divorce official.” Shiro runs his human hand through his hair. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to talk about it.”

Keith finally, finally opens his mouth, and Lance is almost at the edge of his seat waiting for what he has to say, but the purple irises suddenly turn to _him_ instead of Shiro and widen at the same time that the air is knocked out of his lungs and part of his vision wavers, wavers, wavers.

“Lance?”

“Is he —”

“He told me that the last time they did this was when the Lions went away!”

 _My face is glowing,_ he realizes. His marks. His marks are glowing and he can’t see the world clearly, except for a silhouette behind Coran’s seat, almost blending with the landscape.

Lance mouths her name like a prayer.

“Are you okay?” Shiro asks as they all stand up.

So does him, tripping over to whatever version of her is standing there. _She’s right here._ A ghost, a memory, a trick, a hologram, past, present, future, dream, nightmare, it’s her.

“Lance?” Hunk grabs his arm. He shakes his body as much as his can inside his hold to free himself, but he’s not strong enough. “What is it?”

“Allura,” he says.

_Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura._

It’s not his only own voice in his head — he’s connecting with the mice!

“You guys can see her, too?!” He asks over the noise of their high-pitched squeaks.

“Is it me or he acts like she still here whenever these marks glow?”  Keith asks as if he’s not right there. As if _she’s_ not right here. “Can we trust these things?”

“I’m dragging him to therapy again.”

_Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura. Allura._

His glow intensifies and the silhouette does as well. _They’re connected,_ Lance gasps. There’s a nitid trail of light traveling through the air from Lances marks to where Allura is standing, made solely by shades blue, moving her mouth soundlessly with a desperate look to her features.

“Am I projecting her?”

_“Lance.”_

Everyone jumps out of their skin at the same time. He can’t distinguish who screams, who gasps and who almost sobs. He vaguely registers that one of the mice is trembling so much that the other ones gather around it to help. Hunk lets go of his arm as they all turn towards her, but Lance doesn’t dare to move, doesn’t dare to touch, doesn’t dare to breathe.

_“Lance. My friends. Coran.”_

There’s a moment where all the sounds of New Altea seem to fade away so each one of them can scream something over the others, but they go quiet once she opens her mouth again.

_“Please, help me come home to you. Go to the Time Trap. You’re my only hope.”_

And, just like that, she’s gone, and so is Lance’s consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> talk to me! https://twitter.com/ametista_bruta
> 
> I need to warn you, I'm not exactly known for my action-packed scenes. I like to discuss things of their universe, their lives, their feelings. But eventually there will be some action.
> 
> It's the future, baby. Strollers and cribs now float. Matt names his kid Isaac. Fight me. Also, I had to come up with a name for his now-wife and how she looks like, since she never takes that mask off in the show. And I thiiiiink we don't have an official name for her?? Too lazy to look it up now.
> 
> Did you see how the verb tense in the prologue was the past, and now the story is in the present tense, because, heh, we're in present time? I like to think I'm clever.
> 
> I don't know how Katie|Pidge built a ~voltron tracker~. I don't care. It's her. You know she could do it. Not relevant to the story.
> 
> They're older, so it was even more difficult to write them. They need to feel at least a little bit more mature, without losing their essence /and/ the way they act must reflect their current matters, dreams, worries, etc. (Especially Shiro. We'll learn more about his break-up.) Are they still in-character? Is it okay?
> 
> I'm sorry Hunk's "where is he now" part was shorter than the others'. There wasn't much of an issue happening at his life, I guess (BUT I do plan on adding some stuff to his arc conclusion!!), and Pidge's part was longer because I just needed to write Isaac. This fic IS MORE FOCUSED ON SHEITH AND ALLURANCE. Be warned.
> 
> I was only going to post when I had written everything, but I'm an anxious mess. And don't worry. I do have everything planned, what happens each chapter, so you'll be fine!!
> 
> I'm on vacations, so I have lots of time to write and I'm very excited about this project! This is a love letter to Voltron, even if I call it a Fix It. It's what I think makes the characters justice and I hope you can enjoy it as well. I'd bother to "fix" anything if I didn't love Voltron as much as I do.
> 
> Again, English is not my first language. Tell me if I made mistakes!
> 
> Bye! xx


	3. Chapter II: The Trap At The End of The Universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> And here we are with references again! If I have my way, all titles will allude to something. This time, it's "The Restaurant At The End of The Universe", by my dear Douglas Adams. One of my favorite books of all time. Lots of space travel and acid humor.
> 
> I don't believe in schedules or in posting at a reasonable hour. I'll post it when I finish it. (And by 'I don't believe in schedules' I mean I'm awful at following them.)
> 
> Have fun and talk to me later! https://twitter.com/ametista_bruta

 

 _A wave shatters before another stirs and travels and travels and travels through the water_ —

_and this one is also no more._

_Lance thinks that the next one won’t follow its equals to the same fate, but it does, so the next one will learn, but it doesn’t, so he’ll catch the ocean’s movements, but the ocean isn’t moving anymore already, and he’s happy, so, so very happy not to witness anything ending again, but then, somehow, the stillness is even worse and he finds himself longing for death, if only to meet life once more._

 

— do you think he’s dreaming of something?

 

 _It’s silly, Lance knows he’s not at the beach, and he’s not one to think of such metaphors, but it’s pretty in a way that’s also sad, as often pretty things happen to be, so he holds onto the image of the sea. He needs to remember it well, so very well, each detail of what is impossible to tame, for he needs to tell Allura, also impossible to tame, impossible to forget_ —

_impossible to have._

_Ah. He’s the one with the adjectives, isn’t he? Allura was this and that, wasn’t this and that. He’s the one telling the galaxies about her, because she can’t do it herself. They’ll have to know her through a voice that is not her own, and Lance doesn’t like it, he doesn’t, when Allura has such a pretty voice._

_That’s what he thinks. What does she think of her voice? He didn’t ask._

 

— we need to wake him up

 

_He can’t ask._

_my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope my only hope_

Allura. You’re your own hope.

 _She’s here. Her hands on his cheeks, collecting droplets of blue light, they run through dark skin to her own marks, they turn purple. She’s saying something, she stands there the way he remembers her and that’s how he knows she’s not real, because Allura’s form isn’t bound to his wants, and he needs to wake up, so he can find something imperfect in her,_ there you are, not a dream of mine any longer, with such flaws, and yet I love you too much, don’t I?

_Lance smiles when a wave comes again and drowns on it._

 

His first breath is a cough and his first cough is a spasm, and they all come dry, continental, solid ground.

“Should we get a doctor?”

“There’s a nice fella I know that is a doctor —

“Good, bring them.”

“—of Altean Classic Literature.”

_“Coran.”_

“I apologize, Shiro. I’m quite shaken.”

Lance’s vision comes clear and he covers his eyes from New Altea’s sun before taking a deep breath. He sits, a slow, slow progress, five pairs of eyes devouring his every move. His friends form a circle around him. Their faces pulse with all lines of shock, worry, hope, fear and exhaustion.

His thumb catches a tear.

“Thanks, Number Three.”

“No problem,” he coughs again.

“Are you feeling okay?” Shiro asks. “You gave us quite the scare.”

“I’m tired,” he admits. “Feels like I haven’t slept in a long time.”

“I think we’re all gonna have trouble to sleep after what just happened,” Hunk mumbles.

“Was that really her, Lance? Not a trick?”

He eyes Katie and nods. “It was Allura.”

This time, the certainty in their eyes makes Lance shiver.

“She’s _…_ somewhere.” Keith frowns. “I mean, when we parted ways, we left her at that white zone that appeared when we were fighting Honerva, where all realities coexist. But I thought the thing about that place is that it’s not _a place._ ”

“Is it... Afterlife?” Hunk gives them a worried look. “Space Heaven?”

“It doesn’t matter what’s called. We have no idea how to get there,” Shiro sighs. “Feels like we were never there, actually. Kind of like the Void.”

“The Universe is apparently full of _realms_ that aren’t easy to grasp,” Katie bites her lower lip.  “Maybe we don’t have a concept for them. Maybe it’s not possible to have one. Why would something such as the Universe make itself understandable for any of its countless inhabitants?”

Hunk sniffs. “You know my heart belongs to Engineering, but Theoretical Physics says —”

“Focus,” Lance almost snaps. “We can play Stephen Hawking later.”

“We need to do something right now,” Keith nods.

“Well, we know where to go.” He winces as he gets up. “She said —”

“Time Trap,” Coran is almost pulling his entire mustache off his face. “Time Trap. Time Trap. Time Trap. Time Trap. Time Trap.”

“Do you know this place?” He asks. “Or realm, or whatever?”

“I’m trying to remem — ah!” His entire body quivers. “Of course!”

“Where?” Keith asks. To Lance, at least, he seems ready to enter in a ship and get there alone if he has to.

“You’re the one who has been closest to it, actually.” Coran answers. “It’s inside the Quantum Abyss.”

“Oh, just great.”

“Are we catching a ride on a space whale?” Hunk blinks.

“Not sure if a space whale’s route goes there, my friend.” Coran muses.“But someone’s must. The Quantum Abyss is full of these giant creatures who can create their own atmosphere and travel to all kinds of areas. We’ll have help.”

“Where it is?”

“Well, Pidge, I think Keith must have told you of the flashes he saw with his mom.”

“How could I forgot those.”

“Ah, the time flashes.” Shiro winces. “He told us.”

“They come precisely from the Time Trap,” Coran explains, looking at the sky. “The Time Trap is their source. You can see the flashes as leaks of it. I read about it a long time ago when Alfor was studying alchemy. It’s a realm that looks just like where the streams of all realities were, like rivers. Instead, it’s full of streams of time from ours, only.”

Katie frowns. “The other realities don’t have time streams of their own?”

“They do, yes. But, as far as I know, it’s impossible to see time streams from more than one reality at the same time. You see the one where you came from.”

“What info about Time Trap doing in Alchemy stuff?”

Coran shrugs. “Apparently, that realm is _really_ fertile soil for all sorts of magical portals. But Alfor never quite figured out how one would, in fact, open a portal there.”

“We don’t need to do that,” Lance says. “We just need to save Allura.”

“She wants us to go in one of these streams and… travel back in time? To before she sacrificed herself?”

“Must be,” Shiro scratches at the back of his neck. “I hope she has a plan. Something to sacrifice instead of her.”

“I mean, Allura is smart.” Katie adjusts her glasses. “We were running out of time, then. She has had years to come up with a plan.”

“Why don’t we just go back to before Honerva wipes out the realities?” Hunk asks.

“We should do that,” Keith agrees. “It’s safer. We can say to Honerva the same things we said to her then, and all will be alright.”

“And then we — uh, come back to our time with Allura? Wouldn’t that mean that there’s a version of us who lived without her for six years because _future_ versions of ourselves took her to the future — which is our present?”

“Hunk —”

“Or we leave her there and go back to our time, and it’d be like she never went way? Would our brains be filled up suddenly with memories of her during the last years? If she never died, wouldn’t that mean there was never a reason to come back in the first place? Would we create another timeline or another reality entirely?”

“ _Hunk!_ ” Shiro calls again, stepping towards him to shake him gently by the shoulders. “Those are all valid questions and you’re very, very intelligent, but you’re starting to remind me of Slav.”

“Ouch,” he places a hand on his chest. “Not _that.”_

“Sorry, buddy. I went too far.”

“One last worry,” he raises his hand. “Am I the only one concerned about the fact that there is _trap_ in the name of the place-not-place we’re going?”

“The entire Quantum Abyss is one giant trap,” Keith huffs, arms crossed.

“Precisely,” Coran nods. “This realm only has this name because it’s easy to get trapped in the void between the streams. But we’re careful lads, aren’t we?”

“Many things can happen, Hunk.” Katie looks at him and then at someplace in the distance. “Including things no one ever thought of when considering time travel. It’s risky.”

“We. Need. To. Save. Allura.” Lance waves his hand in front of her face. “We can figure all that out once she’s safe.”

“Lance —”

“This is not me being inconsequential,” He interrupts. “You know I’m not like that anymore. Please, believe in me when I say that Allura would never ask us to go somewhere we couldn’t get out. She knows how capable we are.”

“I thought I’d never see her again.” Katie sniffs. “Only in… y’know. The other side.”

“So did I,” Lance looks at each one of them. “I spent the last _six years_ trying to move on. And I'd spend the next _sixty_ years doing the same thing if I felt there was no other way. If I were only to see Allura when I leave this life, then it’d be it. End of the story. But if there’s a chance, as small as it is, that she’s somewhere _wanting to come back_ , I’ll take it.”

“Yeah,” Keith grunts. “I know how you feel.”

“She was here. Right here with me. She was here once and once is just enough to leave footprints on the cosmos. Energy. Completely _unique_ energy. Call it a soul if you want.

If our lives — if _Voltron_ taught me anything, is that each bit of cosmic energy speaks of connection. An untangling yarn of memory, of breath, of a beating heart and lungs full of air. Fingerprints dirty with stardust. We’re not alone in every sense of the word. And Allura is still…

...still on our side of things, at least near it, near us, maybe standing on a line somewhere that’s pushing her away from us, she’s trying not to cross it. And I’ll reach for her. Will you go with me to one last mission as our old team?”

They’re quiet, almost unbearably so. Lance can hear the rustle of leaves and his heartbeat, not as soft.

“Vol...,” they say at once.

“...tron.”

And so Lance watches Katie leaving for the Garrison to warn Sam of what they’re about to do, Keith taking off to Daibazaal to talk to Krolia, Shiro going to take care of the divorce on Earth and Hunk disappearing behind the Castle’s door to talk to his cooking crew and Shay. They need to tie up some loose ends before they launch, but Lance’s trip to the McClain farm is, although very teary and emotional, brief.

He promises to come back with another member of the family.

“Coran,” he tugs at his sleeve. “Can I stay with you to help to prepare for our mission?”

Coran eyes him for a long time before answering.

“Of course. The Castle is your home. After all, in a reality not so far from this one, you’d be my King.”

 

* * *

 

Keith forces himself to look his mom in the eyes.

“It’s dangerous, I know. But I’ll come back.”

She has her lips twisted in a thin line. Disapproval, worry? But her shoulders aren’t dropped, she hasn’t her arms crossed, she’s concentrating, he realizes, because she needs to say something important. He waits for her as she would wait for him time and time again whenever he’d have trouble voicing his feelings in the past.

“I’m proud of you,” Krolia smiles, even if a bit sadly.

“Proud,” he echoes. It’s fragile. “Mom…”

“I am,” she sighs. “You’re loyal until the end, with every fiber of your being. You won’t leave your friend behind.”

_I already have._

“She needs us,” he nods. “And we need her. So much, Mom.”

“I know, little star. I know.”

Keith’s heart tightens. “Dad once said you’d call me that when I was a baby.”

“It slipped,” she laughs. “I’m getting softer, I suppose. But it  don’t matter as long as it’s around you;”

“Or Kolivan.”

That, Keith thinks, had been a surprise. He knew Kolivan and his mom were more than colleagues, perhaps friends in a brothers-in-arms kind of way, but to come back to Daibazaal one day and see their hands firmly intertwined was something else. It didn’t take long for Keith to see how much they grounded each other, for him to warm up to the idea, but, even if they are together, Kolivan and him aren't much in the father-son territory and perhaps won’t ever be. Which is fine; they care for each other enough nonetheless and Keith has always struggled with applying labels to the ones around him.

_Shiro, please. You're my brother._

For the few moments he saw himself in the Quantum Abyss and what she has told him over the years, Krolia’s love for Kolivan was very different than the way she loved — _loves_ — his dad, but he knows it doesn’t make it any less meaningful.

Krolia’s eyes shine. “Him, too.”

“Will you be okay here in Daibazaal?” He frowns. “I know you and Kolivan can represent us just fine in the Galactic Coalition, but, if you need me and I’m not here…”

“We’ll find a solution to it, Keith.” She says. “I always prefer to be with you, but we both know that you and I can work solo just fine. Or, in that case, with a few trusted friends and allies.”

He closes the distance between them. “I’m not sure how long I’ll take on the mission.”

It had been two years, then. And, now, they’re going to the very source of the time flashes, somewhere they plan on messing with the timeline itself. Who knows what that will mean for the others both inside and out the Abyss?

Krolia didn’t look disturbed when she told him. _We’ll find our way to each other again. I’m not leaving you._

“As long as the mission needs to be,” she answers, firm. “The Princess deserves it.”

“Who knows,” Keith mumbles into her shoulder. “Maybe I’ll have a little sibling on the way when I come back.”

 _“Son,”_ she squeezes him. “We’ve talked about this.”

“I know,” he squeezes back, with a little too much force, for he knows she’ll welcome it. “But I’m not sure if I’ve made it clear enough that I support whatever you want to do with that aspect of your life.”

“Keith...”

“Look,  I know you still think of the fact that you didn’t — couldn’t see me growing up. I do, too.” He sighs. “But it could be different for you this time. You can have it all. You deserve it. And if you do want to have other children, I’m not about to deny it for them just because I couldn’t have it myself.”

“Keith, listen to me.” She gently backs away, resting her hands on his shoulders. There’s a kind of look to her eyes that is gravity itself; he cannot orbit any other way. “If someday I do have another child, it won’t be simply to have something I couldn’t have with you. It would not be any kind of replacement for our history, for the holes in it. You’re an entire son. An entire love of mine. More than enough for this and another lifetime. Do you understand?”

Keith does.

 

* * *

 

“They’re insane!”

Katie winces. She has already said goodbye to all her family and Nadia, but apparently, the hardest part is still to come. She still isn’t sure why her dad called Slav to listen to their conversation, but, well, it could be a lot worse than this. _He’s a genius and has clinical anxiety, Katie, it’s not a crime. Bear with him._

“Insane!” Slav twists his entire body, shaking his little arms. “There’s a 70.52% chance their adventure could devour our timeline! And no sock will be enough to make it go down! There’s a 80.01% chance they could reboot the entire Universe _again_!”

She takes a deep breath. “We—”

“WAIT! Do any of you have socks with little giraffes on it?”

(Hunk does.)

“Slav,” Katie hears her dad saying for that it must be the fifth time. “It’s okay. My daughter and her friends have done much more dangerous things. Honerva once wiped out almost all of _existence_ and they managed to save it. They can handle a little time-management.”

“Can they? Can they?”

_Can we?_

“They’re —”

“Do they even have a plan of action? ”

“We want to hear what the Princess has to say first,” Katie explains. “She must have thought of a solution if she called us. But, if she hasn’t, I came to the conclusion that the best thing to do is to leave her in her own time and, when we come back, we have a look at the time streams to see which one has her in our present and go for it.”

“A lot will change,” Sam nods. “But it will only be good changes, I hope. I’m sending a full report of essential information about our current reality and timeline with them, Slav, so that way we’ll have a backup if anything too important is lost.”

“I’m not sure if I can take your word, Commander Holt.” Slav sighs dramatically. “You weren’t wearing the right socks that time and look what happened!”

“I don’t think any item of my clothing would have —”

“Don’t underestimate the powers of socks!” Slave huffs. “And of course if I could take a look at the underwear you’re all using to the mission —”

“Please, just give her the key.”

“Key?” Katie blinks as Slav disappears behind the door with rapid motions.

“Do you know the Green Room?” Sam asks.

“The room where Mom has all her poisonous alien plants and you told me never, _ever_ to go inside?” She raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, I do.”

“I lied,” he winks. “It has a gift for you in there. I thought it would be the perfect time to give it to you.”

“A gift?” Katie’s eyes widen. “Wait, is it plant-related? ‘Cause you know I love plants, but I have a lot of them already in my bedroom and my room here at the Garrison, so if there’s any change I can trade it for —”

“No, it’s not plant-related.” He interrupts with a small laugh. “Just wait a second. Slav will come back soon.”

“Why is the key to that secret room with Slav, of all people?”

A haunted look crosses her dad’s face and he shudders. “His security system is, well…”

“Theft-proof?”

_“Everything-proof.”_

“I’m here!” A voice announces itself, somewhat muffled, and Katie almost screams when Slav reappears through the air vents above her head, landing perfectly on the floor. “It was the safest way to come back here.”

“I’m sure it was, my friend.”

“Here it is,” Slav puts a small silver key in her hand. “Be careful. You must rotate it at 15 mph if you want to decrease the possibility of an elephant appearing in the room through spontaneous generation.”

When Katie opens the door, there’s no elephant, but another animal does surprise her.

 

* * *

 

“Do you need me to go with you?”

“No, please, Shay. It’s too dangerous. And I know you can handle danger, I do. You’re strong and amazing and brave and everything nice.” Hunk kisses her hands, then her forehead. “But I’d rather have you here. Who else would I trust  to host the very first episode of my cooking show?”

Shay sinks deeper into the couch. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t!” Hunk huffs. “I wouldn’t ever go somewhere I couldn’t come home to you. You’re my best friend, aren’t you?”

Her voice is soft as ever.  “I’d rather have Lance to hold this position in your life, sweetheart.”

“You know what I mean,” he smiles.

“I do, Hunk.” She smiles back. “We’re partners. And I want you to go where you need to go, just as I’m free to go where I need to, as well.”

“That’s just one of the many things I love about you,” he says, kneeling in front of the couch. He rests his head on her knees, closing his eyes. “You understand what I need to do.”

“I’m only so understanding because _you_ are,” she answers.

Hunk sighs as her hands rest on his hair and he almost, almost doesn’t want to move.

Shay’s hands are warm, big, could hold the word, they can, but if Hunk has anything to say about it, they won’t ever have to hold anything too heavy. They fit, Hunk and Shay, Shay and Hunk, two sunflowers warming under the light, growing to the most unexpected of the ways, sometimes, but close enough to share what is essential to both.

“When you come back,” Shays whispers, “don’t complain too much if the audience doesn’t want me to leave and the cooking show gets to be mine instead.”

“Me, complain?”

“Wouldn’t you?”

“I’d be your biggest fan.”

* * *

 

 

Maybe being single for the rest of his life isn’t that bad, Shiro thinks.

He’s glad he hasn’t adopted Curtis’ last name, or else the bureaucracy would be even more of a headache. He was once used to heavy amounts of paperwork, but he never thought that one day he would be filling up divorce papers side by side with a very, very quiet soon-to-be-ex husband.

Curtis doesn’t seem to regret it, and neither does he, but this kind of thing is always a little more difficult than it should be and, when they part ways with an amicable hug, Shiro knows he’s lucky they’re on good terms. He’ll miss what they had for such a brief time, but Curtis has never been truly his best friend, his guiding light, and that’s a train of thought he has avoided for too long.

Now, he’s free to do _something_ to his love life. Something better.

 _Are you coming already to the Garrison?_ Lance’s message pop ups. _We’ve got everything ready. You’re the only one that’s not here yet._

Three days preparing, Shiro thinks, is a record. For a mission like this one, even more so. No one can say Lance doesn’t work hard, not anymore. His family’s farm is — that place is _huge._ Shiro has been there three or four times visiting, and there’s always kids there from New Altea learning about Allura, what the woman who could’ve been their Queen was like, what she would’ve wanted for her people, their people.

Now, perhaps, she’ll teach them herself.

 _What about the ship?_ He types back. _Do we have something strong enough to survive the Quantum Abyss?_

_Katie says she has got it covered._

_Really?_

_Don’t ask me._ Lance types. _Still a mystery._ _Come here and ask her yourself._

_Yes, sir._

Shiro gets there as fast as he can, freshly divorced, with a headache, emotionally compromised and all, only grabbing a snack on the way. Like old times, he thinks, with too much on his plate and someone to save. In space. It’s exactly what he’s been avoiding, but it's not like he’d turn his back on Allura of all people. _You never have to thank me for anything._

The room with the Teludav is almost empty. Sam must have asked people to leave it to give them more privacy, he thinks, but it’s strange to see only his friends in such a large space. Katie is nowhere to be seen. The rest all have backpacks and — good grief, _they have their Paladin armors on_. He sees Keith first, of course he does, and waves with a tiny smile that Keith returns from afar.  

That’s them now, isn’t it? A room away from each other.

“There you are!” Coran greets him. “Could you please gently force Number Five to talk? The suspense is killing me!”

“Suspense, huh?”

“She says she has the perfect ship for us,” Hunk shrugs. “Who knows what that means.”

“We have your suit ready,” Lance informs. “Sorry not to warn you first. Must be… a _vision_ to walk in to.”

“It’s a good armor,” Keith shrugs. “Will keep us safe.”

 _“Is Shiro here? Can I come in now?”_ Katie’s voice startles him. It comes from Lance’s helmet in his hands, he realizes. Their old comm-links.

“Yeah,” Lance smiles. “It’s time.”

One of the giant doors that leads to the hangar opens for a ship to emerge and his heart misses a beat. Shiro thought nothing about this day could get any more emotional, but he was so, so very wrong.

Coran whistles. “Hope you’re seeing this, Alfor.”

It’s a Lion.

Not one of theirs, no, it’s — it’s the _Pink Lion_ apparently, a soft pink, a hue that would have fit Voltron’s perfectly, he thinks, even if he has no idea _where._ He’s not thinking about it. He’s not thinking about it. He’s not —

“Is it bigger than Black was?!” Hunk gasps.

“Yes,” Shiro and Keith answer in perfect synchrony.

He’s totally thinking about how different everything would have been if they had six Lions from the start, he’s thinking about never having to leave, he’s thinking about _co-leadership with Keith_ and that is enough thinking a man can do without breaking apart.

Shiro knows it’s irrational, and that he had a reason for leaving, and that Keith is a good leader, and he has a place for him piloting Atlas —

— except that he’s not piloting Atlas anymore.

“How is this even possible?” He asks.

Lance’s mouth is hanging open. “How — where —”

As the Lion lands on the center of the room and Katie comes out of it running, Shiro realizes Keith is a little bit closer to him than before, as if to ground him. He’s wide-eyed as well, but almost stubbornly silent.

“It’s not — it’s not _alive_ ,” Katie pants. “Not like Voltron was. It’s a regular ship. But isn’t it amazing?”

“Ah. _Ahhhhhh.”_  Hunk shakes his hands in a wild gesture. “The Olkari! Right?”

“Yep,” Katie smiles.

“But _why?”_

She hands them a letter. When is Shiro turns to read it, his chest is suddenly too small for his heart.

 

 

_Dear Pidge,_

_I’m trusting this to your father.  It’s not Voltron, not a part of it, but I hope it suffices. I don’t want to distract you from moving on as you should. You’re a brilliant girl — woman, now_ — _and I know you’ll have a good use for this if the time comes._

 

_I’ve always had a feeling that, someday, you’d search for your missing friend. Now you have something strong enough for it, fitting as well, my eternal Paladin._

 

_I know too much about the Universe, my dear. We’re not to hold onto impossible dreams, no, but there’s nothing impossible about finding the ones you love if they want to be found by you. I know she does just as  I know every vein that runs through my trees, my forest, your trees, your forest._

 

_Ours. This life is ours to live as we want to. I don’t believe she’s lost._

 

_With love and great admiration,_

_Ryner and all the Olkari._

 

Hunk is already crying for two people, but a tear runs down his face nonetheless.

“Shall we fly one more time, Paladins?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOW are they not freaking out about what they're gonna do, well, you know characters in Voltron have a tendency to do all sorts of insane shit with a straight face on, so.
> 
> Slav has lines and Curtis doesn't because I'm heartless. Also, I think Shiro would hate me. I'm Slav, sometimes.
> 
> Are we ever TOLD about how the Olkari are after the reset?? I... They're safe. I make the rules now.
> 
> Shay and Hunk are relationship goals.
> 
> "Little star" is what rp Krolia calls rp Keith sometimes at the vprp in Twitter! Go check it out!
> 
> I know nothing about Garrison place-management. The hangar is connected to the ~Teleduav room~. You guys remember that now there's A GIANT TELUDAV at the Garrison, right?? I do. I remember it very well because it works wonderfully for my fic. They can get to the Abyss without too much trouble.
> 
> I love fics where Krolia has a baby (I suppose Galra fertility works differently since they appear to have longer lifespans), but I feel this also works. But nothing says she WON'T have one, just not right now. Lots of things to do and places to go.
> 
> So we have a chapter that is 1. a poetic fever dream of Lover Boy Lance, 2. Plan-making and 3. Emotional stuff. That's my jam. Usually, I write stuff that doesn't require Universe-building (or, in that case, Universe-explaining), but I'm having way too much fun taking my time to talk about as much as I can about how things are now for each of them. I'm sorry there's no scene in Lance's farm. I promise you the cow is fine. She has a girlfriend now. It's.. it's Veronica's cow. Veronica also has a girlfriend. It's Acxa. FIght me. 
> 
> Next chapter we have all the Sheith you could possibly want. Hold on.
> 
> xx

**Author's Note:**

> talk to me!! https://twitter.com/ametista_bruta I'm a dirty mulstihipper who loves sheith more than anything. 
> 
> Yes, I think Lance is smiling at the end of Voltron because he feels somehow that Allura will come back. Don't worry. I'm not erasing his moving on process. Be patient. 
> 
> And you'll also learn what Keith and Shiro were talking about.
> 
> This is only the epilogue so you all can feel the story. I'm posting the next chapter already. I'm not gonna line: It'll also be introductory. But interesting. 
> 
> English is not my first language! I'm Brazilian. I have a knack for NEVER, EVER USING THE RIGHT PREPOSITION. I'm sorry. Please, if you see any mistakes, of any kind, really, tell me.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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